Guns and Snowshoes; Or, the Winter Outing of the Young Hunters Part 22

Wherever there was a ridge of snow on the ice they could see the marks left by the tramp quite plainly. They skated with vigor, for they felt that Kiddy Leech would do all in his power to escape.

"He may be lazy, but he'll hump himself now," declared Shep.

"And to think he'd do such a thing as this, afar what we did for him,"

said Giant. "He can't have any sense of grat.i.tude."

On they went until they entered the rocky pa.s.sage between the two lakes. Here they had to walk through several ridges of snow and saw that the tramp had done the same.

Out on Lake Cameron the ice was tolerably free from snow, so it was not so easy to follow the trail. But they watched the ice closely, and kept their eyes open for the tiny scratches made by the skate runners.

At one point, in a snow drift, they saw where the tramp had taken a tumble and rolled over.

"Served him right," grumbled Snap. "I wish he had taken a dozen falls."

They were nearing the end of the lake when they swept around a curve of the sh.o.r.e. At once, Snap, who was in the lead, set up a shout:

"There he is!"

"And skating for all he is worth!" added Shep.

"Hi, you! stop!" yelled Giant. "Stop, you rascal!"

At first Kiddy Leech did not hear, but presently, as they drew closer, he turned in a startled way. Then he tried to skate harder than ever.

"Stop where you are, or I'll shoot you!" called out Snap, who had brought his shotgun along.

"Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" yelled the tramp, in wild alarm.

"Then stop," went on Snap.

The tramp skated a few strokes more and then halted. Soon the three boys swept up to him.

"Don't shoot!" cried Kiddy Leech again. "It's--er--all a mistake.

I--er--I didn't mean any harm."

"You didn't?" said Snap, indignantly. "No harm to steal our things?

You're a rascal if ever there was one. We ought to hand you over to the authorities."

"No! no. I--er--I wasn't stealing anything. It's all a joke. I was coming back. I thought I'd scare you a little, that's all."

"Hand over that game-bag," said Shep.

"And that storm-coat," said Giant.

"And my skates," put in Snap. "And all the other things you took. And be quick about it, too."

"You'll not go near our camp again," answered the leader of the Gun Club.

Finding himself surrounded, Kiddy Leech gave up the things he had taken, including the skates.

"Now hand over the money you got from us," continued Snap, sternly.

"Why, can't I keep that?"

"Not a cent of it."

Kiddy Leech tried to, protest, but the young hunters would not listen to what he had to say.

"We ought to give you a good thras.h.i.+ng," said the doctor's son. "If we were near town I'd have you arrested."

"Don't you ever show your face near our camp again," said Giant, who, even though small, was bound to have his say.

"If you do, we'll make it red-hot for you," added Snap.

Stripped of all he had taken, the tramp stood glaring at the boys in a sullen manner.

"I'll fix you for this," he began, when Snap cut him short.

"Say another word and we'll thrash you good," he said. "Now get--just as fast as you can walk." And he pointed toward the river.

Muttering under his breath, Kiddy Leech moved on, and the three young hunters watched him until a distant bend hid him from view.

"Doesn't walk as if his back was lame," was Giant's comment.

"Oh, I guess that was all put on--just to arouse our sympathy,"

answered Snap.

The boys turned back in the direction of their camp, talking about the affair and glad that they had had no worse trouble in getting back their things. In the meantime Kiddy Leech walked on, fast at first and then more slowly, until Rocky River was reached. Here he came to a dilapidated building once used as an ice-house and sat down on a bench in the sun to rest.

"I'm having bad luck right along lately," he muttered to himself.

"Thought sure I'd get away to-day with those things. Gee, but I'm glad they didn't shoot me! That fellow they call Snap looked mad enough to do it. And to think they took that money back too--after giving it to me! Say, I'd like to fix 'em for that!" And he shook his head savagely.

Kiddy Leech had been sitting on the bench less than quarter of an hour when he saw several boys coming along the frozen river on their skates. He looked at them indifferently at first, but soon became interested in two of the number. These boys were Ham Spink and Carl Dudder. The third youth was Barney Hedge, one of Spink's cronies.

"The same boys!" muttered the tramp to himself.

"Hullo, look at the scarecrow!" called out Ham Spink, as he swept up on an elegant pair of silver-plated hockey skates.

"Wonder what cornfield he came from," put in Carl Dudder.

"Got any old clo's' to sell!" cried Barney Hedge, imitating a street merchant.

Kiddy Leech scowled at the trio and said nothing at first. Then, as Ham Spink threw a s...o...b..ll at him, he arose and beckoned the boys nearer.

"I want to talk to you two," he said, motioning to Carl and Ham.

"We haven't any money for you," answered Ham.

"You can't get a drink out of me," added Carl Dudder. "And by the way," he added suddenly. "You're the tramp my father fired out of our barn one night last week."